"I have a weird feeling about that guy. I recognize the sword on his back—it's Frostmourne from World of Warcraft. I could understand carrying it around in normal times, but now that the apocalypse is here, I really suspect there's something wrong with his head."
"Do you think this could be a trap?"
Before, none of them had been this wary.
But now the world had ended. Over the past few days, they'd truly seen just how wicked people could be.
Friends who'd once walked arm in arm and shared everything would kick you in the back to buy themselves time to escape, all for the sake of staying alive.
That was why they were so cautious now. In times like these, one careless mistake could cost them their lives.
Back in peaceful times, earning someone's trust had been difficult. Now, it was harder still.
"We mean you no harm. Please forgive us if we've disturbed you," Big Sister said.
She couldn't figure out what was going on with this man, either.
It was perfectly normal for people to read books in a library.
But what was happening now?
This was the apocalypse, a world full of danger. Why would anyone come here to read?
"It's fine. Carry on. Just keep your voices down a little. This is a library, after all."
Lin Fan sat down and buried himself in his book again. The information on growing plants was fascinating, and he wanted to enjoy some quiet reading.
Big Sister lowered her voice. "Keep it down from now on."
She had a feeling the man in front of them was not to be trifled with. It wasn't because she knew anything about him; it was simply a woman's intuition.
A long while passed.
Lin Fan heard their footsteps as they left. He stood and looked over, seeing them hurry toward the exit.
"Are you leaving?" Lin Fan asked.
The short-haired woman said, "Can we help you with something?"
She was very polite and showed no hint of impatience.
"You're taking so many books with you. You need to register them. They don't belong to any one person, so they have to be checked out." Lin Fan was just reminding them; he meant nothing by it.
What?
The short-haired woman was dumbfounded, and so were the two men beside her.
Actually, anyone would have been stunned.
What was he even saying?
"Damn, man, is there something wrong with your head?" the man in the baseball cap couldn't help asking. He was struggling not to laugh. What mental hospital had this patient come from? In all of Huang City, there was probably only Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital.
Didn't he know what was going on?
And he was still talking about registering books. Was he crazy?
"Do you know what things are like outside?" the short-haired woman asked tactfully.
At first, she hadn't thought there was anything wrong with him, but now she was starting to suspect otherwise.
This was not normal. It really wasn't.
"I know. It's the apocalypse. There are zombies outside that bite people. Apart from that, not much has changed," Lin Fan said calmly.
"Man, even if you know what's happening outside, you should understand that this is really... Forget it. You have your own ideas, and we got what we came for. Let's just stay out of each other's way and mind our own business, okay?" the man in the baseball cap said.
He wasn't a vicious person. Before all this, he'd just been an ordinary working man, living a nine-to-five life. He didn't break the law or cause trouble. He worked hard to get by and make things better for himself.
Lin Fan could tell they seemed a little nervous. He smiled. "Don't be nervous. It's fine. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Things really are dangerous outside. I understand that you wouldn't want to take risks in a situation like this."
"Oh, right. Remember my name. I'm Lin Fan, and I live in Sunshine Residential Complex, Building 2, Unit 2, Apartment 704. If you ever get surrounded by zombies and can't keep yourselves safe, you can come find me. I'm strong. Eighty or a hundred zombies are no match for me."
The short-haired woman: ...
The man in the baseball cap: ...
The last man: ...
That settled it.
There really was something wrong with him.
But they didn't say it aloud.
"Thanks. If we really run into trouble, we'll come find you," the short-haired woman said quickly, then hurried away with the others.
The other two gave Lin Fan a long look.
Maybe they were thinking... Man, you're really something, talking that big.
"They left so fast. I didn't even get to ask their names." Lin Fan watched them disappear, a little disappointed. But learning made him happy, so he returned to his seat and buried himself in his book again.
Growing plants was a little complicated.
Whether he'd be able to provide for himself in the future depended on him.
The library fell quiet.
Only the sound of pages turning rang through the stillness.
Outside the library.
"Big Sister, I'm telling you, I'm a hundred percent sure that guy's a lunatic. The apocalypse must've scared him out of his mind," the man in the baseball cap said firmly.
"I think so too," one of the other men said.
"Stop talking and hurry up," the short-haired woman said.
The three of them climbed into the Steel Beast. Old Mao, who was driving, saw that everyone had made it out safely and let out a sigh of relief. He started the engine and quickly drove off.
The noise of the engine drew several zombies.
Apparently, they had wandered over from somewhere else.
But a few zombies like these had no chance of stopping the Steel Beast. It was like an insect trying to stop a chariot. The tires crushed them in an instant, leaving a mess of blood and flesh behind.
"Awesome, Old Mao. Every time I see your car crush zombies, it feels so damn good," the man in the baseball cap said.
Through the window, the short-haired woman took one last long look at the library.
She had no idea when this apocalypse would end.
It was like being lost in the dark, unable to see even the slightest glimmer of hope.
"There's too much information. I can't finish it all in a short time."
He had spent a long time in the library. The light had gradually faded as evening approached. A ray of ocher sunlight streamed through the library windows and quietly blended with the ground.
He closed the book.
"Looks like I'll have to check it out and read it at home."
The book on plants contained all kinds of information about growing vegetables.
He admired the farmers who grew crops. They knew the methods for growing every kind of vegetable by heart, and what they knew was even more detailed than the information in books.
"That's enough for today. Time to go home."
Lin Fan stood up with a book tucked under his arm and went to the library counter to check it out.
Without a library card, he had to pay a hundred yuan as a deposit and leave his phone number.
He was only taking one book. Bringing back more might interfere with his learning, and he might not be able to focus.
Experts on TV had said that when you went to the library, you should borrow just one book. Borrowing too many meant they'd just sit there unused.
This was especially true for men and women. Men were better off borrowing only one book.
Given the nature of men, they could stay focused only when there were no distractions. If there were temptations and choices, they'd be drawn to beautiful things or pretty women, looking here and there until they ended up learning nothing.
He paid the deposit, tucked the book under his arm, and walked out of the library. Then he shut the bronze door.
Outside.
The distant sky had turned a reddish yellow. Sunset had come, and night was drawing near.
He walked along the quiet road. Both sides were still, and every storefront was empty.
Every now and then, a rotting corpse lay there, ignored by everyone.
A gust of wind blew past.
Lin Fan sneezed. His nose itched.
He had long since gotten used to his surroundings. Things weren't much different from before. The only difference was that the people were gone.
On the way here, he'd run and hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings. Now he walked slowly on the way back, taking in the sights.
When he returned to the Seed Company, he found all kinds of vegetable seeds, clearly labeled.
He took some of each, packed them up, and put them in his pocket.
He also got some base fertilizer. Fertilizer was crucial to whether the vegetables would grow well.
"I'll leave the money here." Lin Fan took some cash from his pocket and set it on the counter.
The owner wasn't around, but he couldn't just take things without paying. That was a matter of principle.
If he kept taking things for free, he'd get used to it.
And once that became a habit, it would be truly frightening.
He left the Seed Company and headed home.
There was a lot to do next.
He needed to pick a place to grow his crops.
The open spaces in the residential complex would be a good choice, but they didn't belong to him alone. He'd need everyone's permission before planting anything there.
Back home, Lin Fan set the book aside, along with the seeds and fertilizer he'd bought.
His trip out hadn't been a waste.
He'd met people in the apocalypse who were doing their best to survive, and he'd also met people who were taking advantage of the chaos to do evil.
"Doing your best is the greatest help you can give others." Lin Fan patted his cheeks to relax himself.
He no longer had entertainment, but he could put his energy into learning instead.
It was getting late.
He still hadn't made dinner, but he hadn't finished the vegetables he'd bought, so he could eat those again.
Soon, the aroma of food filled the room.
"A man who can cook really is the best."
Lin Fan felt pleased with himself. Even in the apocalypse, he still kept a cheerful outlook.
That evening.
He sat at his computer desk, reading the book he'd borrowed and taking notes as he went, writing down the things he wanted to remember.
He'd have to return the book eventually, so it was better to write some things down in case he forgot them later.
After a while.
His eyes grew tired, and he wanted to sleep. He closed the book, lay down on the bed, hugged his teddy bear, and drifted off into a lovely dream.
On the quiet night, the occasional roar of a zombie could be heard.
It reminded the living that danger was always lurking around them.
In a desert somewhere, there was an underground base.
There were signs of zombies, but they were all under control.
A group of people in protective suits were carrying out various experiments.
"Something's strange. According to our tests, the cells in the zombies' bodies are becoming slightly more active every day."
"You mean the zombies are evolving?"
"You could put it that way."
"Forget that for now. I just want to know if we can develop an antiviral serum."
"No. These viruses are strange. We've never seen anything like them, or even anything similar. Do you know about zombie genes?"
"You mean these people died and came back to life, living on in another form?"
"It's hard to say..."
"Keep researching. No matter what, we have to develop an antiviral serum. We must eliminate the zombies and get the world back on track."
"Yes."
When the zombies first appeared, this base had run into trouble as well.
Fortunately, the situation hadn't gotten too bad.
They had eliminated the people who turned into zombies, at the cost of a small number of personnel.
When they learned that the world outside had fallen to the apocalypse and zombies were rampant, they were completely stunned.
They could only rely on the resources at the base and devote themselves to research.
They hoped to develop a cure.
To wipe out the zombies once and for all.
If things continued this way, the world would be completely destroyed.
Before you continue